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Joshua Tree was originally protected as a National Monument in 1936 by President Franklin Roosevelt.

by Tommy Hough

It's only been a matter of days since Tea Party-led Republicans took control of both houses of Congress, and to no one's surprise, the 114th Congress has picked up where the House portion of the 113th Congress left off.

A procedural rule adopted by the House designed to subvert and derail Social Security by the end of 2016 would work by preventing "routine reallocations" of funds between Social Security's retirement fund and disability program. Even the Associated Press acknowledged the needlessly antagonistic nature of the rule:

"An easy fix was available. Congress could have redirected payroll tax revenue from Social Security's much larger retirement program, as lawmakers have done before."

Giant Sequoia National Monument, Tulare County. And when the AP says "as lawmakers have done before," they mean that in the 80-year history of Social Security, no one in Congress had ever deliberately set up the agency to head into insolvency – but the congressional GOP seems to have found a way. Country first. Be sure to remind your grandparents.

Giant Sequoia National Monument, Tulare County.

Essentially, this is the tip of the iceberg of Tea Party Republicans' intent to burn good government to the ground, and another demonstration of how the Tea Party hasn't found any component of good government they don't want to hold hostage for political gain.

And when it comes to the environment, the House wasted no time in putting forward H.R. 330, a bill that would strip the president of his ability to declare National Monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906 without congressional approval – which, of course, is the whole point of the Antiquities Act.

President Obama recently used this extraordinary executive conservation power for the 18th time in his presidency, declaring the long-proposed San Gabriel Mountains wilderness expansion and National Recreation Area plan as a National Monument in October, and good on him for doing so.

The ability of President Obama to do anything without having to run the gauntlet of the Tea Party-led Republican Congress, which decided before he was even sworn in to deny him all cooperation as a matter of strategy, makes Republicans' head spin – except the Antiquities Act was signed into law by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, for very much the same reasons Obama is utilizing it today.

John Muir Wilderness, Inyo County.

H.R. 1126 – First introduced in 2011 by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the "Disposal of Federal Lands Act" would force the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming to sell off "excess" public lands to the highest bidder. And what is "excess" public land? No definition for that. The Wilderness Society estimates this would result in the sale of 3.3 million acres that would be used for logging, mining, and other forms of resource extraction. In other words, this is about removing lands from public oversight so private industry can run roughshod.

H.R. 2588 – The "American Land Sales Act," sponsored by Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), would force the BLM and Forest Service to sell eight percent of their respective federal land to the highest bidder this year and next year. In 2015 alone, the two agencies would've been forced to sell off nearly 36 million acres of forest and other federal public land to corporate interests.

H.R. 2852 – The "Land Division Act," sponsored by Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), would force the BLM and Forest Service to give away, free of charge, five percent of their lands to each western state. This would leave 30 million acres in the west vulnerable to resource extraction and development.

There's absolutely no reason to think versions of these bills won't continue to come back in worse form in the 114th Congress. While it's unlikely President Obama would sign any of these into law on face value, they could be added to must-pass legislation like the debt ceiling. And it's worth remembering Barack Obama will no longer be president in two years, in which case the question becomes, "which party is going to be a better steward of protected places?"

If you have to think about that answer, you're overthinking the question.

Boxer helped shepherd the promotion of Pinnacles National Monument in Monterey County to National Park status in 2012, and Feinstein was instrumental in the passage of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which also created Mojave National Preserve. Tell them to STAND FAST against attempts to undo the 1906 Antiquities Act, the 1964 Wilderness Act, the 1968 Wild and Scenic River Act, the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and so on. Also let them know you want Congress to renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund immediately.

Similarly, let President Obama you know you appreciate his leadership and support his comments in the State of the Union speech on the sanctity of public lands – but will not accept rollbacks of conservation and environmental law. If Congress fails in their duty to protect America's natural heritage, the president is our last line of defense.

Along the San Andreas Fault near Fort Tejon State Park, Tejon Pass, Kern County.